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Baby Product Recalls: Week of February 11th-February 15th

By Mom365, February 11, 2013

Depending on which day you happen to be reading this, the weather could be frightful or delightful, but as of this writing â€śfrightfulâ€ť is the more likely scenario. (Unless you live someplace thatâ€™s always warm, which sounds really nice right now.) If you are chilly, please bundle up, and also be sure to check out this weekâ€™s selection of product recalls, one of which directly relates to winter.

The first item being recalled is the 4momsÂ® breezeâ„˘ Cotton Jersey Playard Sheets, which were sold at Buy Buy Baby and other retail outlets, as well as online. Unfortunately, the sheets are too small, and â€śa sheet that does not properly fit the play yard poses an entrapment hazard that could lead to suffocation,â€ť according to the CPSC. Thankfully no injuries have been reported, but 4moms is doing the recall â€śto ensure our customerâ€™s safetyâ€ť because â€śthe sheet was not manufactured to specification,â€ť according to a statement posted at 4moms.com. To check if your sheet is part of the recall, look for a black tag with â€ś4momsâ€ť printed on it. Then check the packaging (if you still have it) for the item number 4M-009-10-000101. If the box has been (understandably) thrown out, check the white warning label sewn onto the sheet itself and look for UPC code 817980011137. The remedy is a full refund, which consumers can obtain by contacting 4moms online, or calling the company toll-free at (888) 977-3944.

Remember when we mentioned how chilly it was outside? (OK, we were whining. Sorry about that.) Winter means cold and flu season, which sometimes means cold and flu medicine. Our second recall alert involves TriaminicÂ® Syrups and Theraflu Warming ReliefÂ® Syrups. The child-resistant caps on these products can â€śfail to function properly and enable the cap to be removed by a child with the tamper-evident seal in place,â€ť according to the CPSC. To us that sounds like a fancy way of saying that the child-resistant caps may not, in fact, prevent a child from opening the bottle of medicine. This is not a good thing. If you have any Triaminic at home, you should look on the box for the following information:

the lot number, found on the bottom of the box

the NDC number, found on the upper right or upper left corner of the front panel of the box, depending on the product

Next, go to www.novartisOTC.com to see if these numbers match any of the 24 potentially affected products. Yes, 24. And we donâ€™t mean the TV show about Jack Bauer. Unlike our first recall, this one is based on a dozen reports of children being able to open the bottles; one of them ingested the medicine and needed medical attention, according to the CPSC. The remedy is a refund; consumers can download the appropriate form from Novartisâ€™ website.

As always, please check the CPSC links below for complete information about these recalls. Until next time, stay warm, be healthy, and as they used to say on â€śHill Street Blues,â€ť letâ€™s be careful out there.

Brett Singer is a freelance writer and father, not necessarily in that order. Follow him on Twitter, and visit his web site, DaddyTips.com. He recently completed the first draft of a novel that is, in part, about parenting.